Except for some types of skin cancer, breast cancer is the most common cancer in people assigned female at birth. In this group, the average lifetime risk of developing breast cancer is 13%Trusted Source, according to the American Cancer Society.
Some individuals have a higher chance of breast cancer. This can be due to genetic factors that increase risk.
This article takes a closer look at the genetic and hereditary risk factors for breast cancer and the screening recommendations for those at higher risk.
What are the genetic and hereditary risk factors for breast cancer?
Cancer is a genetic diseaseTrusted Source. It’s caused by DNA changes, called mutations, in certain genes that cause cells to grow and divide out of control.
Most genetic changes that contribute to cancer are acquired during your lifetime. These are called somatic mutations. Somatic mutations happen due to things like the natural aging process or certain lifestyle and environmental factors.
What about hereditary breast cancer?
Hereditary cancer is when cancer runs in families. This means mutations associated with higher cancer risk are passed down to you from one or both of your parents. About 5–10%Trusted Source of breast cancers are hereditary.
The most common hereditary cause of breast cancer is mutations in the BRCA1 or BRCA2 genes. Individuals with BRCA mutations have about a 70% chanceTrusted Source of developing breast cancer by age 80 years. These mutations also increase the risk of:
breast cancer at a younger age
breast cancer affecting both breasts
other cancers, including ovarian and pancreatic cancers
You can inherit BRCA mutations from either parentTrusted Source. If you’re the child of a parent who has a BRCA mutation, you have a 50%Trusted Source chance of inheriting the mutation.
It’s also possible to have breast cancer run in your family but not be associated with any known mutations that increase breast cancer risk. Scientists continue to work to identify and characterize further inherited risk factors for breast cancer.
What other genes are associated with hereditary breast cancer?
Hereditary breast cancer can also result from inherited mutations in other genes. Though these are much less commonTrusted Source.
Some gene mutations are linked with rare genetic syndromes that increase the risk of breast cancer and other cancer types. Gene mutations involved in these syndromes include:
PTEN, which causes Cowden syndrome
TP53, which causes Li-Fraumeni syndrome
CDH1, which causes hereditary diffuse gastric cancer and also increases the risk of lobular breast cancer
Comments
Post a Comment